Carson Palmer Trade Took Oakland Raiders Hue Jackson Off Focus

When Carson Palmer signed the deal to join the Oakland Raiders last week, thus effectively replacing Raiders Quarterback Jason Campbell, who was out with a broken collarbone, this blogger said in vlog form that it wasn’t a trade that I would have made.

Not that it was a bad trade, but the Silver and Black already have former Cal Bears QB Kyle Boller, who knows the offense. While, and particularly after his two-interception performance today, many will toss all kinds of insults about Kyle, the simple fact is that he wasn’t getting the kind of focused coaching he needed, and the Raiders bringing in Carson all but assured that Kyle would not get it.

But bring in Carson Palmer into a game with just three days of preparation after not playing for almost a year? I tweeted that wasn’t going to happen, trusting that Raiders Coach Hue Jackson would think logically.

Coach didn’t do that.

I don’t have to look at tape to know what happened.

First, the fact that Carson Palmer (CP) even came in to take a snap means Kyle Boller didn’t get the full amount of prep time he needed. Second, bringing in CP so early means that Carson was being thrown into a situation against a major division rival, the Kansas City Chiefs, and set up to fail.

Third, Coach Jackson didn’t think he would fail. That this is so is the most disturbing fact of all. He did, and the Chiefs blew the Raiders out of the Oakland Coliseum, 28 to zip.

Carson Palmer had no business walking on the green of the football field during the Chiefs game. The best place for Palmer would have been upstairs learning why certain plays are called. Or holding a clip board on the sidelines. And all with the idea that it was Kyle’s show. That’s what Bill Walsh would have done.

I now firmly believe I could have crafted a better game plan than Coach Jackson put together for the Chiefs game. I would have started with a package of five new plays specially designed for Kyle Boller – all passes that take advantage of what he does best: throw mid-range passes. The mobility would be designed into the plays. And no huddle. In all, it would have been a thing of scoring beauty, my offense. Use the pass to set up the run.

And it would have been so beautiful because it’s a proven approach – former 49ers Head Coach, the late Bill Walsh, was a master at creating such game plans. That 15-play script is the laboratory Coach Walsh used to open games, and determine where and how to poke holes in a defense, on the way to destroying it, and by doing what his players, especially his QB, does best.

If Coach Jackson ever dares to do so, give me a chance to prove myself during the 2012 NFL Preseason. I’m very serious. I’ve seen enough. I can do better at offensive play design and play calling than many coaches I’ve seen in action – and that includes Coach Jackson, of whom I’m a big fan.

But right now, I’m disappointed in my coach. He took his eye off the ball. Coach Jackson fell in love with his new “shinny object” player, Carson Palmer, and forgot the number one maxim: when you go to the biggest dance of the year, you dance with who brung ya. That, for all practical purposes, was Kyle Boller. Save Carson for when he’s ready.